


You Can't Spell Fluke Without U

by Elphiealps



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Altean Lance (Voltron), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Galra Keith (Voltron), M/M, Slow Burn, This is pretty much an AU, galras am I right?, i don't know how to tag, lots of fluff later on, lots of jealousy, much talk much flirt, ratings and tags may change as story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-18 04:11:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11866419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elphiealps/pseuds/Elphiealps
Summary: “You’re an idiot with good taste,” He sneered, “But don’t you have any idea what this means?”“I literally just picked up your fork; it can’t be a bad thing.”“It can’t be a bad thing,” Lance mimicked, “You say it as if getting betrothed to a guy like you at a costume party was certainly something I wanted right now!”The stranger’s eyes lit up with confusion, “Betrothed? I never-,"“Afraid so,” Coran sighed, “Picking up the dropped utensil of another is a sign of proposal here. Everyone should know this.”“W-wait, you mean…?”Coran smiled brightly and nodded, “Congratulations! You two are now engaged to each other!”-This was really just an excuse to let Lance wear dresses.





	1. Costumes and Forks

“I don’t know about this Lance…”

“Oh relax, Hunk! I think it’s a great idea!”

Lance flashed a smile in the mirror as he adjusted the long, white wig covering his short brown hair. He ruffled the riveting curls as they bounced off his shoulders and smiled as he finally finished his getup. His eyes were lined with dark, black eyeliner and filled with a light shade of various blue eyeshadows. His lips were painted with a dark, ruby red, and he couldn’t help but admire his own handy-work-though he was positive his cousin, Allura, would be extremely upset about him ruining her palettes. He’d probably have to get her a new one, but, he thought with a shrug, it was a small price to pay for what he had decided to go as; his all-time favorite Altean singer.

“Besides,” He continued, “It’s a costume party! No one will care,” he grinned, giving a twirl in his dress. It was a halter-neck, mermaid dress, slitted a little in the middle of his chest. There was a transparent white fabric under it that ran over his shoulders and down the sides of his back, leaving the middle of it exposed. It clung tight to him in a soft baby blue fabric that was beaded with soft pink crystals and it hugged his sides nicely, making sure to show off his feminine curves. It flared out a little at the hips, flowing down to the floor and parting into a slit, exposing his right leg from the knee down. He hummed, taking note of his pump heels-white satin, with golden leaves running up the stem of the heel like a curling vine, and at the front of his shoes. He tapped his feet gently, getting a feel for it and smiled.

“Hunk,” He chirped, glancing at his friend through the mirror, “Don’t you think I did an _amazing job_? They don’t call me the tailor for nothing!”

His friend snorted at the comment and shook his head, “No one calls you that” he chuckled, but before they could continue to chat, the door to his chambers opened and one of the servants peeked in.

“All the guests are beginning to arrive, you’re highness. You’re sister waits for your presence.”

Then they left, and Lance felt his nerves light up. He did one more look-over and deemed himself ready before shuddering briefly to rid himself of his anxiousness. It would be his first party every at Altea without his family by his side, and he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it.

“You ready, buddy?” Hunk asked, knowing how conflicting this moment must be for his friend. But Lance simply took in a deep breath and steadied his nerves.

“As ready as ever,” he smiled, then turned to loop his arm through his friend’s awaiting curved elbow.

 

***•.** **♥.•***

 

Before they entered the ball room, Hunk parted ways with him to go join the kitchen staff to make sure they were cooking the meals right. Lance waved goodbye with a small smile, before he turned back towards the large white doors. He hesitated a moment, fiddling over his attire once more before nodding towards the guards on either side to open the doors. They did so with a flourish, and Lance was greeted with the chattering and laughter of their kingdom’s people, neighboring guests, and future allies. He straightened his back and cast a bright smile before walking inside, his eyes looking around the large room for his sister.

This party was supposedly the biggest one Altea had ever thrown, with different royals attending, along with empresses and dukes alike. He smiled and waved at the few eyes that met his, and made brief conversations with the aliens that would stop him. As he walked further into the crowd, he finally found his sister talking with two delegates. One was tall and nicely built, with muscles being seen from under the black sleeves of his suit. Lance noted that his striking feature was his hair-there seemed to be one thick white part in the front despite his hair being black. The second one, was shorter. But he was more refined. He didn’t talk as much as the first guy, but occasionally he would open his mouth. He was dressed in a striking red and silver tunic with black slacks. His semi-long hair was tied back in a white ribbon, with a few loose strands at the side of his face.

Upon moving closer, Lance could see his face properly and discovered that his eyes were a dull greyish purple looking color. They seemed blank and a little bored. Before Lance could make it to their side, the second being had said something before turning and walking away.

“Oh! I was just about to go look for you!” Allura said, breaking him out of this thoughts. Lance blinked, confused for a split second before quickly flashing an easy-going smile and shrugging.

“Well, look no further; here I am,” He said, cheekily. Allura chuckled, before grabbing him gently by the arm and leading him to meet the stranger she was talking to.

“Great costume. You certainly would make quite a catch as a girl,” She teased. Lance gasped in mock offense.

“Hey! I make a great catch as a boy as well,” he grinned, till they finally stopped in front of the man. Allura let go of him and held her hand out to the other.

“Shiro, this is my cousin, Lance McClain. He comes from the human kingdom, but he’s part Altean from his mom’s side. After the mysterious death of his planet, Altea was quick to welcom him into our arms,” She said, then she turned to him, “Lance, this is Takashi Shirogane, or Shiro for short He’s part of the Marmora Alliance.”

“ _Ooh_! An ally,” Lance mused, reaching out to shake his hand, “A pleasure, Shiro.”

The man, Shiro, gave a friendly smile and nodded, “Likewise,” he said, shaking his hand. They continued to chat for a while after that. Lance asked more about Marmora, revealing his high interest in the many Galra rebels the large base held. Shiro seemed happy enough to provide the information since they would be merging together soon.

“We’ve been around since the beginning of Zarkon’s terror,” He explained, “We’ve been working to build our numbers and hope to gain the trust of other planets.”

Lance gave a side glance to him and quirked an eyebrow, “You don’t look that much Galra. Are you half?”

Shiro chuckled and shook his head, “No, I, uh, actually came from earth,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “I was captured by some of Zarkon’s fleet, before I escaped and the Blade of Marmora found me.”

Lance’s eyes widened with intrigue, interested by his story as he explained how he winded up with a robotic arm. He would’ve stayed to hear more, at least until he caught a glimpse of the servants laying out the buffet area, to which Lance quickly excused himself and made his way over, eager to eat more of Hunk’s cooking. He sighed at the smell of the various meals splayed out. There were cooked creatures from different planets laid out on the fancy silver dishes, each coated with a series of sauces. Desserts stood proudly on the next table. Lance spotted his favorite one-it was dark and looked like a chocolate cake. But it was some sort of Altean dessert that was coated in something a kin to a sugary texture, topped with delicious curled shreds of Arus fig roots and drizzled with white frosting. It was odd looking, but delicious nonetheless. And Lance couldn’t help but reach out for one of the slices, along with a fork.

However, his fingers had slipped on the utensil and it went spiraling to the ground. He sighed, placing his dessert down and quickly reaching to pick it up-but before he could grab it, someone else had.

“Oh no,” Lance said quietly, he quickly straightened back up and met the eyes of the short stranger he had been staring at earlier. The man held the fork out to him and Lance glanced about warily.

“You dropped this,” The other said, his voice smooth and calm. Lance cringed inwardly.

“Thanks. But you should put it back on the ground now,” he said, hastily. The stranger paused, cocking an eyebrow up.

“What? Why?”

“No time to explain, just drop it,” Lance said sternly, seriously, why wasn’t he putting the stupid fork down?!

The stranger rolled his eyes with an irritated huff, and extended his arm out. Lance almost yelped and tried to take a step back, but instead he bumped into a person behind him and cringed as they turned to look, giving a snort through their nose as he apologized quickly. He let out a sigh of relief as they simply turned back towards the spread. But his relief was short-lived when he heard a voice calling out to him.

His eyes widened and he turned to face the stranger, only to jolt in surprise as they grabbed him by the wrist and placed the utensil in his hand.

“Look, just take the fork,” He said, “What’s the harm in it?”

“Oh!” A loud voice cried, Lance almost died on the spot as he recognized it as Coran, “Lance, I was looking for you! I wanted you to meet-,” Coran’s eyes wandered towards their hands and took in the sight of the fork being placed in his hands. He grew very serious in a manner of seconds, “Did you drop that fork Lance?”

The half Altean felt his shoulders droop, “Yes,” he muttered reluctantly. He was past the point of arguing.

“And, er, did he pick it up for you?” Another nod from the said boy. Coran sucked in a deep breath and grabbed onto the lapels of his collar, he stared at the other through squinted eyes, “You, sir, are you going to take the fork back?”

The stranger frowned, “No, why?”

Coran coughed a little and gave a small laugh, “Are you sure?”

The man sighed in exasperation, “Yes, _I’m sure_. Why would I take it back? It’s his.”

Lance grimaced at the obliviousness of the guy before him and pulled his hand back as though he had been burned. He stared down at the fork in his hand with disdain and looked at the guy with almost imploring eyes for him to freaking _take the fork back._ But he did no such thing and there was nothing left to do but for him to admit defeat.

“You’re an idiot with good taste,” He sighed with a great lack of enthusiasm, “But don’t you have _any_ _idea_ what this means?”

“I literally just picked up your fork; it can’t be a bad thing.”

“ _It can’t be a bad thing,_ ” Lance sassed, folding his arms over his chest, “You say it as if getting betrothed to a guy like you at a costume party was _certainly_ something I wanted right now!”

The stranger’s eyes lit up with confusion, “Betrothed? I never-,”

“Afraid so,” Coran sighed, “Picking up the dropped utensil of another is a sign of proposal here on Altea. Everyone should know this.”

“W-wait, you mean…?”

Coran smiled brightly and nodded, “Congratulations! You two are now engaged to each other!”

Lance’s hand itched with a strong need to slap someone in the face that night-namely the idiotic face of the _moron_ standing in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay my first fanfic! 
> 
> It'd be great to hear your comments! I'm really not the best with creativity and writing really isn't my forte, so if you want to offer some ideas or advice, I'm all ears! Or eyes? Doesn't matter! I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on what you think the story will be like or become!! So please don't be shy!!


	2. The Duel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance doesn't like this. Not one bit.

There was something about the man, or rather _Keith_ as Lance had come to know, that made his blood boil with rage. Yes, Lance would admit that he had developed a sort of feeling towards Keith the moment he opened his mouth to say something that was most likely, without a doubt, probably stupid. This feeling had a name that Lance had yet to agree on.

Hatred?

No, too weak.

Detestation?

Nope, but it’s getting closer.

Abhorrence?

Ooo! Nice word choice. But not quite.

Loathe?

Bingo! Yep. That’s it.

Lance _loathed_ Keith with a strong passion. He just did.

Which was kind of ironic in a way, since he was supposed to be _engaged_ to the guy as of now. But, hey, it was kind of a forced thing, so give him a break!

He sighed as he begrudgingly sat next to Keith during a dinner-something of which he was positive Allura did on purpose. The engagement had yet to be released to the public, but Coran had alerted Allura and Shiro of the sudden problem. Now, they were currently seated. Two different races sitting at one large table, eating some fancy food.

But Lance hardly touched his meal, he was too busy staring at the food and toying with it, listening idly to the sounds of forks and knives moving. He felt a nudge at his arm, and he turned to see Keith staring at him.

“You’re not eating,” He said. Lance rolled his eyes, this guy was a natural.

“Wow,” He began, “Aren’t you the expert,” he said in a snarky voice. Keith frowned, eyebrows knitted together in confusion at the attitude the other seemed adamant about giving him.

“Lance,” he tried.

But Lance refused to hear it, instead he turned in his seat to face him, “Let me ask _you_ something, Mullet-,”

“It’s Keith-,”

“-Why are _you_ eating? How are _you_ okay with all of _this_?”

Keith sighed, seeing it as a lost cause with the other. So instead, he decided to indulge him, “I’m just trying to look on the bright side,” He replied back.

Lance laughed, completely humorless though, “The bright side? There _is_ no bright side you idiot! We’re _engaged_ , and we hardly even know each other!”

His sudden outburst brought the attention of Allura, Shiro, and Coran. They all looked up from their hushed whisperings and turned to see Lance scowling and pouting in his seat. Allura sighed, deciding that they showed start addressing the elephant in the room. She put down her utensils and gave the best smile she could.

“So, Keith,” She began, “As you know, you’re to be engaged to my cousin as per custom of the Alteans. That being said, we are hoping to gain the benefits of an alliance between us and the Blade of Marmora.”

Keith looked away from Lance-who gave a huff at the action-and towards Allura. He worked up a small smile back towards her and nodded, “Of course. We were already discussing the plans about that, but seeing as how we are soon to be joined together, an alliance is a positive thing.”

As they talked about alliances, Lance was simmering in anger. He couldn’t help but find Allura to be the traitor at the moment, and never had he so much had hated a lifeless object as much as he did now. He stared down at the fork besides his plate and glared holes into it, trying to melt the darn thing with his mind’s eye. He pushed it away from him after a moment of nothing and swore that he would make sure to have _every single one_ destroyed and replaced with something else-probably those crappy sporks they had back on earth. The thought made him feel a little better as he imagined Keith struggling with trying to cut into his food, since he’d have no idea at how useless sporks really were, but it was a momentary thing as he turned back to listen to the conversation.

“-about the wedding and, of course, the living accommodations, we’ll have to make plans to move Prince Lance’s things to Marmora,” Shiro said. Lance’s eyes widened, and well, quite frankly this was the moment where he just had to flat out step in and say _no_.

“Whoah, whoah, _whoah_ ,” he said, slamming his hands down as he stood up, “ _Move_? I’m going to be _moving_?”

Everyone looked startled at the sudden action, and Shiro swallowed, nervously looking around a bit before nodding at Lance, “Yes,” he said, unsure of why it seemed like a shock to the other, “If you two are going to get married, you’ll have to live with each other. Keith is an heir for the Marmora base, so he needs to stay there while he still learns his trade.”

“Great. I’ll move in _after_ he finishes,” Lance responded. Shiro looked between Allura and Coran, begging them to help him with the angry prince. Coran, luckily, decided to help out.

“I’m afraid you can’t Lance,” He said it with a soft voice, “As the future husband to Keith, you’ll need to learn how to rule alongside him on the Marmora base, which is why moving there is not an option.”

Lance wanted to scream from the unfairness of it all. Instead, he turned towards Keith, eyes blazing, “No,” he said through gritted teeth, “You know what? I refuse!” he pointed an accusatory finger at Keith, “This is all you fault!”

Keith stood up and growled, “My fault?! I had _no idea_ about how marriage works on this planet! So don’t blame me!”

Lance scoffed, “If you had just put the fork down when I told you to-!”

“Put the fork down?! I was trying to be nice you little-!”

“- _none of this_ would’ve been happened!”

Their foreheads crashed against each other as they glared and shouted. Shiro sighed and stood up along with Allura, both going to go and try to separate the two before things escalated. Shiro reached them first and quickly pulled them both apart. Lance raised both his arms in victory while Keith folded his own across his chest and exhaled quickly through his nose.

“That’s enough. There’s no use crying over spilt milk,” Shiro said quickly, “We just need to calm down and start moving forward with this.”

“I agree,” Allura said, placing a ginger hand on Lance’s shoulder, “I know this wasn’t what we had wanted to happen, but it did. So, let’s just focus on the positives.”

“There _is_ no positives with that guy,” Lance muttered, “Marrying him is freakin’ suicide.”

“What was that?” Keith growled, eyebrow twitching.

Lance pulled an innocent face, “Oh nothing,” He said, voice dripping with sarcasm, “I just said that marrying you would be a social suicide.”

“Well being married to you wouldn’t be paradise for me either!” Keith retorted, “There’s no way an arrogant child like you would make a perfect husband!”

“You know what? This marriage is cancelled!” Lance snarled, reaching down for the silver knife next to his plate. He launched it towards Keith, who dodged it easily and was quick to throw his own right back at him.

“Oh, quiznak,” Allura sighed, shoulders sagging. Shiro groaned.

“What? What’s wrong now?” Shiro asked, his eyes swimming with anxiousness; what had Keith done _now_?

“Lance challenged Keith to a duel,” She began, “And Keith just agreed”

Upon seeing the knife landing just a few inches behind him, Lance grinned a wicked grin and pointed at Keith, “Hah! You just agreed to a duel! Prepare to taste dirt, Mullet!” he said, cackling as the realization dawned onto Keith.

“You gotta be freaking kidding me.”

***•.** **♥.•***

The duel was set for the afternoon of the following day.

Lance stood in front of the weaponry shelf, eyes looking over the different items. From behind him, Hunk paced the floor, giving Lance an earful for his foolishness.

“A _duel_? You challenged him to a duel just so you wouldn’t have to be engaged to him? Are you crazy?!” Hunk said, he was currently in between the emotions of concern for his friend, and irritation at his plan.

“Relax, Hunk,” Lance said, picking up one of the few guns they had. It was a good medium sized gun, and he was taking a liking to it, “It’s not a killing duel. It’s a simple game of who can knock down who. If I win-and I _will_ -then the engagement is cancelled and I won’t have to move to that stupid base. But if _he_ wins-which _won’t happen_ -well, ya know,” He shrugged, putting the gun down and reaching for another, “But like I said, I will win, so it’s all good.”

Hunk stopped pacing and looked at Lance with a look that told him he wasn’t quite sure about that, but, he knew that his friend was already beyond listening, especially when he finally settled on a gun and grinned.

“Here we go,” He said, aiming the gun at nothing and pretending to be shooting, “That guy will never know what hit him!”

“Sure Lance,” Hunk replied back, trying to give a smile of encouragement to his friend.

With nothing else to say, he wished him good luck and watched as Lance left the practice room of the arena.

The sun was shining particularly bright when Lance left past the gates and entered the arena. There was a large crowd in the stands and they all cheered upon him seeing him enter. Keith stood a short distance away, brandishing a sword in his hands. They stared at each other as they walked towards the center and Lance scoffed.

“ _That’s_ your weapon?” He asked. Keith rolled his eyes.

“And that’s yours?” He ridiculed back. Lance glared.

“I’ll have you know that guns are cool! And I am the best around here, so watch it, Mullet,” He said, clearly defensive. Keith bit back a laugh and instead snickered.

“Right,” was all he said, before the announcer began to speak. They stepped away from each other and took a starting position. Lance breathed in calming breaths and flexed the finger that hovered over the trigger. He stared at Keith with watchful eyes, ready to pinpoint the openings and shoot. He didn’t have to worry about hurting the other, these guns were meant for nothing more than to just briefly stun the shooter’s victim.

And as soon as they heard the announcer shout, “ _Begin!_ ” they sprung to life.

Keith swung down first, forcing Lance to duck down and roll quickly onto his legs before taking aim and shooting. Of course, he should’ve figured that victory wouldn’t be that easy. Keith turned out, much to his unfortunate surprise, to be an excellent dodger with his sword. With every beam shot out, it was quickly deflected by the other’s blade.

It continued on like this for a while, with Keith swinging his sword with expertise and Lance firing beam upon beam. A few times he almost got the other off guard, but Keith was quick to land back on his feet and come back with stronger thrusts of his sword. It led to them having to fight face to face because Lance’s gun was becoming overheated. Keith spun on the heel of his feet and swung his weapon down hard. Lance blocked it with his gun and they stayed like that, gun to sword as they brought them down together at the same time in a loud _clash_. They grunted with effort as they each pushed against the other, trying to knock the other down.

“I thought you were the best,” Keith said. Lance furrowed his eyebrows as he continued to push as hard as he could.

“I _am_!” He hissed, “You’re just a crappy opponent!”

Keith let out a breathy ‘ _hah’_ and shook his head, “Or maybe you secretly _do_ want to stay engaged!”

Lance’s nose flared and he scowled, moving forwards, “ _As if_!” He cried out in a shrill voice.

Unfortunately, it was that moment of distraction that led to Keith being able to knock Lance a few inches back. The gunman skidded on his feet for a moment, barely missing the attack from Keith, who had run towards him at full speed. He slashed left and right, making Lance hold his gun from opposite sides and follow the attacks to avoid being cut.

Then, with a sudden change of direction, Keith’s blade had managed to graze Lance along the top of his right hand. Taken aback by the pain, he hissed and dropped his weapon. This gave Keith the chance to kick the poor prince in the stomach and knock him down flat on his back. Lance choked at having the wind knocked out from him and he grunted as he landed harshly onto the ground, hands sprawled out at his sides. He clenched his jaw tightly and was met with the sight of the tip of Keith’s blade in between his eyes, just barely touching the bridge of his nose. He met the dark eyes of his opponent, but it was hard to tell what emotion they held. The way they were positioned had the sun casting a shadow over Keith’s face, preventing Lance from seeing it that well without squinting.

“I win,” Keith said, panting. Then, he stepped back and tucked his sword back into his holster. The crowd rose up in an uproar as the duel came to an end. Keith turned away to face the crowd, and Lance was left still on his back, head tipping back in acknowledgment of his loss, his eyes squeezed shut tightly.

“The winner of the duel is the heir of Marmora, Sir Keith Kogane!”

Another cheer, but Lance hardly heard it.

“We are proud to acknowledge this victory, and we are proud to announce that Prince Lance of Earth and Altea, will soon be ruling alongside Sir Kogane, in an act of marriage! They have been betrothed and we will be holding a grand celebration in their honor! We welcome all to attend!”

When Lance opened his eyes at the cheers ringing through, he was met with the open palm of Keith. He stared at Lance with an unreadable expression, but it was obvious from the way he furrowed his brows that he had something to say. Lance, however, didn’t want to hear it. Instead, he pushed aside the hand and got up by himself. He held his injured hand close to his chest and picked up his gun.

Not saying a word, he raised his eyes towards the area of which Allura and Hunk sat with Coran and Shiro. He gave them both a weak smile, but from far away, he was sure they couldn’t see the way his eyes were starting to tear up.

He turned back to Keith, who stared back with a small frown, “Looks like we’re doing this,” he said. Keith nodded.

“Yeah, guess we are.”

“Don’t think I’ll be easy to live with,” Lance said, beginning to walk away.

“Lance!” Keith called out.

But the Prince didn’t respond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaah! I suck at writing fighting scenes >.<;; And poor Lance, his reason for opposing the marriage will make itself known soon enough...
> 
> I just want to note that more characters will come out! I'm still building the story up, so more will be introduced in the next chapter! Don't worry, just one more filler chapter and then the story can begin to unfold because Lance moving to Marmora will be a big change! So, please bear with me!
> 
>  
> 
> **Also, thank you guys for the comments! They really helped to motivate me! So please don't be a stranger! As I said before, writing really isn't my forte, and seeing your comments really helped me to feel more comfortable about my skills. Plus,I am more than happy to receive ideas or advice! And I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on the story! So don't be shy!**
> 
>  
> 
> **Thank you for giving this fic a chance!**


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